With all those "leafy" appendages hanging off, it's easy to
imagine how this Leafy Sea Dragon would blend in so perfectly in a kelp
bed. Sometimes even experienced dive photographers may not notice
the animal even at arm's length, until it moves.

Leafy sea dragons are ready to mate at an age of one year; at two years
they are full size. In captivity, leafies may live to ten years or
more. According to an article by Peter DeMarco of the Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts,
USA) aquariums pay up to 1,500 U.S. dollars each, which literally makes
sea dragons worth more than their weight in gold! Additionally, their
voracious appetite for about 100 mysid shrimp per day can get expensive.
Each commercially purchased live mysid can cost in the range of 65-85
cents (U.S.) each, according to aquarists at the (Long Beach,
California) Aquarium of the
Pacific. This expense has prompted a newly initiated mysid-culturing
program at the aquarium.